Hundreds Attend Armenian Doctor's Funeral

YEREVAN -- Hundreds of people have attended the funeral of an Armenian military doctor aimed at continuing public outrage against a government-linked businessman who allegedly employed the men accused of beating him to death.

Top army generals, opposition politicians, and civic activists silently walked behind Vahe Avetian's casket through the Yerevan neighborhood where he lived with his family.

Public figures attending the funeral reaffirmed their strong condemnation of the June 17 beating of Avetian and two other military doctors at a restaurant owned by influential businessman Ruben Hayrapetian.

Meanwhile, activists continue to protest against the apparent impunity enjoyed by Hayrapetian and other tycoons.

About a hundred civic activists marched to the Prosecutor-General's Office on July 2 from the Yerevan cemetery where Avetian was buried.

They chanted "I am Vahe" and warned against a cover-up of the doctor's death.